The sting felt by Paul Stastny's decision to turn down the Avalanche's retention offer and sign with the St. Louis Blues in the first hour of NHL free agency Tuesday was ultimately soothed by Colorado agreeing to terms with future Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla, the longtime captain of the Calgary Flames.

On his 37th birthday, Iginla signed a three-year contract worth $16 million, returning to the West after finishing the last two seasons with Pittsburgh and Boston. Iginla produced 30 goals for the Bruins last season, two more than Ryan O'Reilly, who led the Avs in that category.

"Jarome's track record speaks for itself. He is one of the top goal scorers of all time, as well as a great leader," Avs executive vice president Joe Sakic said in a release.

Iginla's 560 career goals are tied for 24th all time, and he is coming off his 12th career 30-goal season.

His signing spearheaded a busy and emotional day for the Avs, who seemed to rally from Stastny's rejection by gaining toughness and experience in adding six players worth more than $11 million in annual salary. Iginla is a gritty power forward, 34-year-old Brad Stuart (acquired via trade) is a skilled and hard-hitting defenseman making $3.6 million, forward Jesse Winchester ($900,000) will add depth to the fourth line and defenseman Zach Redmond ($750,000) is an up-and-coming find from Ferris State University.

The Avs also signed forward Ben Street (two years) and defenseman Bruno Gervais (one year), probably to help feed their farm system.

Advertisement

With 22 players under contract, Colorado moved to 12th in salary cap among 30 teams, with about $10 million available to lock in key restricted free agents O'Reilly, Tyson Barrie and Joey Hishon.

Stastny, 28, is now the Blues' highest-paid player, at $7 million per season over four years. He was making $6.6 million with the Avs.

Forward Jesse Winchester, right, signed with the Avs as a free agent from Florida. (Frederick Breedon, Getty Images)

"It's a tough decision. I was in a good position," Stastny told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I had good teams interested in me, and obviously the Avs were always one of those teams. I think in the end, you almost have to take a step back, take all of the emotions out of it and try to realize what's best for me hockey-wise, not just next year, but two or three or four years down the road. My family — my fiancée and I — thought that probably going to St. Louis would probably be the best hockey decision for me."

Stastny was an alternate captain for the Avs, but Colorado actually improved in leadership by adding three former NHL captains over two days. Forward Daniel Briere, acquired Monday from the Montreal Canadiens for winger P.A. Parenteau and a draft pick, once was a captain of the Buffalo Sabres. And Stuart was an alternate captain for the Sharks and had worn the "C" in his first stint at San Jose.

Iginla, who played on numerous Canadian national teams with Sakic, is considered one of the game's foremost leaders. Iginla said he was drawn to Colorado because of Sakic, Alex Tanguay (a former Calgary teammate) and the handful of young Avs stars such as captain Gabe Landeskog.

"I have a lot of respect for Joe. He's a winner," Iginla said about Sakic, the Avs' top day-to-day executive. "So it definitely had a lot to do (with my decision). It's (also) the team, a great young team, playing against them, watching them, seeing the players they have, the goaltending they have, seeing the direction they're going, my buddy Alex Tanguay. ... I talked to him and Landeskog a few days ago, and (coach) Patrick Roy, so all that went into it."

Iginla will play right wing on a line centered by Matt Duchene or Nathan MacKinnon, who will probably return to his natural position and replace Stastny at center.

Clubs keeping eye on RPI rankingsIn the age of RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) determining playoff seeding in Colorado prep sports, playing a championship schedule has become more important than ever for any team expecting to compete for a state title. Full Story

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story